‘Mikado,’ ‘Othello’ spark public forum at Seattle Rep

Seattle Repertory Theatre and the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, with the support of the Seattle Office for Civil Rights and 4Culture, will present a Forum on Artistic Freedom & Artistic Responsibility at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 18, at at the Poncho Forum at Seattle Rep.

“Othello,” courtesy of GreenStage.

The event was sparked by a lively debate in the Seattle Times, other publications and social media over the racial implications of a recent production of “The Mikado” by the Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society, which had no actors in the cast of Asian heritage, and a GreenStage airing of Shakespeare’s “Othello,” which had an actor of color who was not black in the title role.

According to The Office of Arts and Culture, the forum will be a collaborative conversation, in which the audience is asked to raise questions, provide examples and offer strategies, while engaging in respectful dialogue. A video of the event will be posted online sometime after the event. One can also follow along on #seattleAFAR on Facebook or Twitter to take part in the conversation.

The forum is free, though reservations are requested through eventbrite.com, where one can also submit questions or ideas one would like to see addressed. More details on Seattle Rep’s website.

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